The Mysterious Boy
by Leela14
Summary: [Riku x Sora] A new boy has moved into town and though he is strange, he may be just the thing Riku needs to change his life.
1. Chapter 1

_The Mysterious Boy_

by Leela14

_Chapter 1_

It was a nice day. Riku had taken advantage of it by walking around town. He enjoyed walking since it was a nice, simple exercise. He especially liked being alone when he walked. Though he had friends, he enjoyed getting away sometimes to daydream. It was the middle of summer. Riku was happy to be out of school at the moment. He enjoyed being with friends at school, but there were so many people at school that got on his nerves. At least during summer, he had the chance to get away from it all.

"Hey Riku!" he heard the voice of one of his friends. He turned around and saw his friend, a young girl with short red hair running towards him.

"Hey Kairi." he said when she got up to him.

"Did you hear about the new kid who came to town? He's a young boy around our age."

"What's his name?"

"I don't know. I haven't found that out yet. But I think we should fin him and make friends with him. I've been dying for someone new to come around here."

"Well, you can do that."

"You don't want to?"

Riku shook his head. He really enjoyed his summers alone. He hates his time at school and likes to just forget about it all once summer starts.

"You're no fun." Kairi said, putting her hands on her hips. "It's like impossible for anyone to have fun with you because you never want to hang out with me or anyone else during the summer."

"This year has been really rough for me. I just want to be alone."

"Suit yourself." Kairi said, walking away.

Riku continued his walking. Now his thoughts were about school and how he was not looking forward to going back after summer. Last year he struggled a lot with school and had been bugged nonstop by a bunch of older guys. He hated high school so much. He felt like such an outcast. If it weren't for his few friends, he would always be alone. Even though he does have a few friends, they usually hang out with each other more than him.

_The summer's half over. _Riku thought to himself. _What am I gonna do to pass the time?_

Riku continued to walk around until he saw a nearby alley. He usually liked hanging out in those because it gave him a chance to get away from everyone else and no one would know where he was. He wasn't nervous. Alleys only seemed scary at night time, and it was early in the afternoon at the moment.

"Stop it! Please!" He suddenly heard as he began walking into the alley. There, he saw three guys picking on a slightly younger boy. The three other boys seemed tough, where the other boy seemed weak.

"What's with this weirdo?" one of the tough guy asked. "He's such a whimp! Let's see how many bruises we can give him before he starts crying!"

"I dunno." another guy said. "This kid already seems kinda teary-eyed."

Riku stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do. Before he could even decide on what to do, one of the tough guys spun around.

"Well, well, well." said the toughest of the three. "It's our favorite classmate, Riku. Right, boys?"

The other two nodded.

"Too bad we won't be in the same class next year." said Riku. "You know, since you three failed for the second time!" Riku instantly covered his mouth in shock about what he had just said.

The toughest of the three walked up to Riku. He seemed even taller than he already was up close.

"You better watch what you say." he said. "Nobody messes with me, Jack."

"Or Rick!" said the other.

"Or Gary!" said the last one.

"Let's get out of here." said Jack. "We'll be back for you another day, Riku. Have a good summer while you can."

After the three boys left, Riku went to see if the other boy was ok. The young boy had spiky brown hair, blue eyes, and had on a strange red suit.

"Are you ok?" Riku asked.

Riku felt bad when he saw some bruises on the boy's arms and legs.

"Yes." he replied softly. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. I didn't really do anything."

The boy simply smiled. "I'm Sora."

"Oh, um...I'm Riku."

"It's nice to meet you." Something about him freaked Riku out, but just a little.

"Are...you new here?"

"Yes. My family and I just moved here the other day."

"Ah. So...why were those guys picking on you?"

Sora frowned. "I'm not sure. I didn't do anything to them. They just sort of came up out of nowhere and pulled me into this alley. But I'm glad you came. Now they're gone!"

Riku sighed. "Yeah but they'll be after me sooner or later. Well, whatever. I really should get going."

Sora tried to stand up, but his legs had been so beat up that he could hardly stand. Riku really wasn't in the mood to stay and help, but he knew leaving him here would be the wrong thing.

"Would you like some help?" Riku asked.

Sora looked up and smiled. "No thank you. I'm ok. Really." But when he tried to stand again, he just fell right back down.

Riku helped him stand up. "Let me at least help you to your house." He hoped that was not too far away.

After a bit of traveling, they had made it to Sora's home. Sora thanked him again and again and again. Riku continued to say it was no big deal, but Sora felt the need to make it up to him.

"Trust me, you don't." said Riku, and walked away. Sora watched him walk away. He couldn't get the smile off of his face. He just continued to watch Riku walk away until he was completely out of sight.

That morning, Riku woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

"Hello?" he said into the phone, still somewhat asleep.

"Hi, Riku!" he heard Kairi's cheery voice reply. "Are you still asleep? It's eleven o' clock! Wake up!" To Riku, eleven o' clock in the morning was early.

"Please just let me go back to sleep." Riku said into the phone.

"I wanted to see if you'd join me and Hayner at the beach today! Please, Riku? At least come with us for this one thing! Besides, Pence and Olette can't come so it'd make us feel better if--"

"Ok! Ok! Fine. What time?"

"I dunno. Um...in two hours maybe?"

Riku groaned. "Alright. I'll call you back when I'm ready."

Riku spent the next hour and a half getting ready. It was hard for him to get ready. Especially when he's tired. Also, he still had Sora on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about that boy and how something about him made him seem so different.

_I think...I had a dream about him. _he thought to himself. _He was just standing there, smiling that silly smile. Whatever. I shouldn't be thinking about him._

Later on, he met his friends Kairi and Hayner at the beach.

"I'm a little shocked you came!" said Hayner. "Usually when we call you and ask you to join us, you say no."

"Actually you're wrong." said Riku. "I hang up without saying a word."

Hayner laughed. "That's still considered a 'no' if you ask me."

"Well I'm glad you came." said Kairi. "We miss you over the summer. I don't want it to be that way again this time!"

"Hey, Riku!" Riku heard a voice. It couldn't be...could it? Riku turned around, and to his disappointment, it was. Sora was there was well.

_Oh great. _Riku thought. _Just perfect. What does he want this time?_

_**To Be Continued...**_


	2. Chapter 2

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 2_

Riku was already in a bad mood for being at the beach, but now Sora was here too. Riku wished he could have just stayed at home and read a book. That would have been much better than being where he was now.

"You're the new kid, right?" Kairi asked.

Sora nodded.

"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Kairi, and this is Hayner."

"I'm Sora."

"Riku," said Kairi. "you know Sora?"

"We passed by each other, nothing else." Riku retorted.

"Actually," said Sora. "I was being beat up by three guys. When Riku showed up they stopped beating me up and left."

"Aw, how kind of him." said Kairi.

"It's not like I'm a hero or something." Riku said, folding his arms. "I went to an alley, not expecting Jack, Rick, and Gary to be there and--"

"Jack, Rick, and Gary were beating up Sora?" Hayner asked. He turned to Sora and said, "Sorry you had to get beat up by them. They're just as bad at school."

"Anyway," Riku continued. "I didn't really save his life or anything like that. Jack and the others just turned around and noticed me. Right after that they threatened me, then left."

"Maybe so." said Kairi. "But if you didn't show up, poor Sora may have a little more than just bruises."

Kairi could see Riku was in a bad mood and did not wish to continue talking about this.

"So, what do you all want to do?" Kairi changed the subject immediately. "Any ideas?"

"Beats me." said Hayner.

"We could play a sport!" Kairi suggested.

"The only good sport to play on the beach is Volleyball." said Riku. "Which of course I don't like."

Kairi wasn't even going to bother suggesting socializing with others on the beach because she already knew Riku would say "no." Kairi remembered why she didn't enjoy spending time with Riku in the summer. He was no fun.

"We could surf!" said Hayner. "The waves are looking pretty good today."

"You're the only one who knows how to do that!" said Kairi. "Well, I have some boogie boards we can use. They'll be just as fun to ride the waves with as well."

"Sure!" said Hayner.

"Whatever." said Riku.

Kairi turned to Sora. "What about you? Does that sound ok?"

"Sounds great!" said Sora.

Sora, Kairi, and Hayner were out riding on the waves while Riku simply sat on his board in the shallow side of the ocean. He spaced out and stared at the sky.

_Why did I come here? _Riku aksed himself. _I ruin everybody's fun. I should have just stayed at home. And Sora's here too so...Damn! Why am I doing this again? I can't stop thinking about him. Why?_

He stopped looking at the sky when he felt the boogie board he was sitting on go over a wave. It wasn't that big of a wave now since he was over by the shallow end. He looked over to where his friends were. He noticed somethig was wrong with this picture. He saw Kairi, he saw Hayner, but he didn't see Sora. Where was he? Now a bit curious, he went further out in the ocean to where they were to see where Sora was. The two looked exhausted. They were hanging on as tight as they could to their small boards. Sora's board was floating near them.

"Riku!" Kairi cried. "A huge wave just came over us when we weren't looking, and now Sora's gone!"

"I'll look for him." said Riku. As much as he didn't want to, he didn't want to make his friends do it when they were so tired now. He got off his board and went under the water. From far away he could see a body floating around towards the bottom of the ocean. Immediately, he swam towards him, grabbed him, and pulled him up towards the surface.

Riku gapsed for air as soon as his head went over the water. Sora's eyes flung open and he looked around, puzzled.

"Oh, you're alive!" Riku exclaimed.

"Of course I'm alive." said Sora. "I was just relaxing."

"What? You mean...you weren't--"

"Is something wrong?"

"Dammit! Don't do that to me! You had everyone else freaked out that something happened to you!"

Sora had a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry."

Riku let go of Sora and swam back to his board.

"Is Sora alright?" Hayner asked Riku.

Riku said nothing and got out of the ocean. Sora swam over to Kairi and Hayner.

"Oh, good!" Kairi exclaimed. "I'm glad you're ok."

"I'm sorry." Sora said, grabbing onto his board. "I wasn't really in any danger. After the wave had crashed down on us, I kind of just let myself drift. I knew I was ok, but you guys didn't."

"It's ok." said Kairi.

"Well I'm glad you guys aren't mad." said Sora, looking at Riku. "I really got Riku mad."

"Don't worry about Riku." said Hayner. "He's not the type to hang out with when you're expecting to have fun."

Sora continued to watch Riku storm off angrily.

_Maybe I can change that..._ Sora thought.

_Another dream..._ Riku thought to himself the next morning. _Fuck that stupid Sora! Now I'm having obnoxious dreams about him!_

Riku decided to walk again. All he could do was think about his dreams. He couldn't remember it exactly. All he remembered was a strange, yet marvelous looking place...and Sora.

When Riku stopped his thoughts, he noticed Sora was not too far away. Riku tried to go in a different direction to be avoided, but of course, he was spotted.

"Riku, can I speak to you for a minute?" Sora asked.

Riku rolled his eyes. What could he possibly want now?

_**To Be Continued...**_


	3. Chapter 3

_The Mysterious Boy_

I'm glad people like it so far. I hope this story doesn't become a total let-down in the end. ANYWAYS...

_Chapter 3_

"How come you don't enjoy hanging out with people?" Sora asked.

"That's none of your business." said Riku. "Listen, I don't know why you're bothering me all the time, but I'd rather you not. We're _not _friends. So please just stop bugging me!"

"I wanna help you!" Sora said as Riku began to walk away. Riku stood still for a moment.

If Riku had turned around, Sora would have seen the mean look on his face. All Riku wanted to was be alone.

"You're sad..." said Sora. "I can tell. I just don't know why. I know something that might cheer you up though!"

"Forget it!" Riku continued to walk. "I just want you to leave me alone!"

"Wait!" Sora grabbed Riku's wrist. When he did so, something odd happened.

For a second, everything around Riku seemed bright. He was so confused. After a second of looking around, puzzled, he broke free from Sora's grasp.

"What the hell happened?" Riku asked, now terrified.

"You didn't let me finish..." said Sora, holding his hand out again.

"Finish _what_! I'm outta here! Stay away from me!" Riku ran away as fast as he could. He had never been so confused before. He just kept running until he got back home. After he got home, he sat on his bed and thought about it for a while. He started by thinking about what had happened. Riku remembered that when Sora grabbed his wrist, everything went white, but that was all he could remember. This entire thing had him freaked out so bad.

_That boy really is strange. _Riku thought. _I should just stay home tomorrow. That way he won't find me and I'll be safe. Lord knows what Sora was doing when he grabbed me._

Sora was still in the area that he was in earlier. He had been standing there, thinking. Obviously whatever he was trying to do did not work. He had to think of something else.

_Well, _Sora began thinking. _I shouldn't have done that so soon. I need to be better friends with him before I try that again. That may be hard since Riku loves to be alone. I'll have to think about this for a while..._

A few days had passed and Riku had not seen Sora. He was glad because he felt like for a while he couldn't even step outside without seeing him. But then he had begun to wonder a few more days later why Kairi and Hayner hadn't called him. Usually they would call him at least once a week to see if he wanted to hang out with them. Now he never got any phone calls. He decided to call Hayner one evening.

"Hello?" he heard Hayner's voice.

"Hey." Riku said back. "How are ya?"

"Wow. Sorry if I seem a bit shocked, but you never call! What's the deal?"

"What? So now I can't call?"

"No. Sorry. It's just, I'm about to leave the house. I...have a date."

"With who?"

"Kairi."

Riku was a bit surprised. Though he did not have a crush on Kairi, he never imagined the two would date!

"When did you and Kairi start dating?" Riku asked.

"Oh, our first date is tonight." said Hayner. "I'm really excited! I've actually liked her for quite some time now. And apparently Kairi has been feeling the same way!"

"Oh..." Riku said."Well I'll let you go then. Good luck."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

Riku hung up and got onto his bed. He felt bad for ever wanting to get away from his friends in the summer. For once in his life, he truly felt alone. Though he was always aware that he was during the summer, he never let it bother him. If things went well with Kairi and Hayner then they would probably never call Riku anymore. And if he tried to make plans with them, they would most likely say they are too busy hanging out with _each other. _

The sun had gone completely down now and he just continued to lie down on his bed. He had never felt so miserable. All he did was lay in bed until it was so dark that he could hardly see. He closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep. Right as he was falling asleep, his last though was Sora.

Riku found the next day that he wasn't the only one who decided to take a walk around town. He saw Sora.

"Hey Riku!" Sora said walking up to him.

Riku figured he might as well hang out with Sora since he was feeling lonely at the moment. However, he was still concerned about the little incident. At the moment, he wasn't going to worry about it. He figured maybe it was just his imagination.

"I haven't seen you for a while." said Sora. "I missed you."

Riku felt a little strange hearing that from him. "I've just been at home."

"You're...more depressed than you were last time I saw you." said Sora. How did he know that Riku was feeling worse? Riku figured it was a lucky guess.

Riku said nothing.

"Why are you sad?" Sora asked.

"I'm not!" Riku lied. But he could see he was not fooling Sora so he said, "Fine. I'll tell you. Kairi and Hayner started dating and now I just feel a little left out. But it's my own fault. I never hang out with them. It's just...I dunno."

_What's with that look on Sora's face? _Riku asked himself. _He looks like he just completely understands..._

"I think I know what I can do to cheer you up!" Sora said, cheerfully.

"What?" Riku asked, highly doubting he could be cheered up at the moment.

Sora looked around to see if anyone was around. There wasn't.

"Give me your hands." Sora said.

"What?" said Riku. "What are you gonna do?"

"Just trust me! Please, give me your hands."

Riku sighed and thought to himself, _I'm an idiot._

He held out his hands, and Sora grabbed them. Everything grew bright again, just like last time; however, Riku did not let go this time.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	4. Chapter 4

_The Mysterious Boy_

I appreciate the reviews, everyone. You guys are my motivation to keep me going through this story! It's good to know people are reading this. Ok, moving on...

_Chapter 4_

"What's going on?" Riku asked, unable to see what was happening. He could no longer see Sora, but he felt Sora's hands still. All he could see now was white. He was still shocked he did not try to break away this time. Suddenly, he found himself somewhere else along with Sora. The place was beautiful! It was like some sort of paradise.

"Where am I?" Riku asked.

"We've just entered my home world." said Sora. "This is where I lived before I traveled to _your _world."

"What do you mean by _world_?"

"There are many different worlds, believe it or not."

Riku wasn't sure what to believe at the moment. The place was so breathtaking. And he was still confused about how he had even gotten there. Sora could tell he was confused by the look on his face.

"I know you must be so puzzled." said Sora. "Well, that's enough for now I guess." He smiled.

Everything seemed blurry to Riku for a second, then he found himself in his room on his bed.

_Was it just a dream? _Riku asked himself. _I must have dozed off..._

It seemed so real. Could it have really been a dream? He remembered actually touching Sora's hands and entering some strange place Sora calls his _world. _It would not have been a surprise to him if it was a dream. After all, he had been having strange dreams about Sora lately.

A few days went by and Riku hadn't heard a word from Hayner nor Kairi. They were probably having too much fun with each other to even think about Riku. Riku hardly ever thought about them though. At the moment, all he could focus on was Sora. All day, everyday, he would think about him. He realized he needed to see him again. Deep down inside, he could tell he _wanted _to see him again. He just wasn't sure why. Perhaps to find out if what happened a few days ago as a dream or not?

_I can't just ask him. _Riku thought. _If it was a dream, I'd seem like a complete idiot._

He saw Sora not long afterwards.

"I need to talk to you." Sora said. "You must still be a bit puzzled about me bringing you to my home world."

Riku was surprised. It wasn't a dream after all.

"Why...did you take me there?" Riku asked.

"Well," said Sora. "I wanted us to get to know each other better. I decided to start by showing you the place I came from. I knew if I told you I came from another world you wouldn't believe me."

Riku said nothing. He wasn't sure of what to say anyway. Nothing even close to this strange has ever happened to him.

"Do you want to see it again?" Sora asked.

Riku's eyes widened a little. Something in him really wanted to go back, but it felt odd. But he decided to ignore those feelings.

"Um, sure." he said.

Sora looked around to see if anyone was watching. Nobody was, so he grabbed Riku's hands.

In an instant, they were at the marvelous place again. Riku was actually happy to be back.

"Let me show you around." said Sora.

Everything about the place was wonderful. The sky was full of colors like blue and purple. And it was even brighter with the millions of stars in the sky. The grass could not be any greener and the water could not be any clearer. Everything about the place just gave off a happy feeling. Riku couldn't remember the last time he truly felt happy. He loved this feeling an he loved this place.

After a while, Sora suggested that they head back. He grabbed Riku's hands and teleported them back.

"You seem so much happier." said Sora.

"It was ok." said Riku. Sora laughed. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Come on! You know you had a good time!"

"What? I told you it was _ok._"

Sora laughed a little more. "Whatever, Riku. You're so serious all the time. It wouldn't kill you to lay back and have fun for once."

"And it wouldn't kill _you _to be a little more serious for once."

"I'm serious when I want to be. I'm not completely careless."

"I really should get home." said Riku. He didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Well I hope you enjoyed yourself." Sora said, watching Riku leave.

"Uh...thanks." Riku said. "...I guess."

Sora knew he didn't really mean it, but he didn't really care at the moment.

_He seemed pretty happy when we were in my old home world. _Sora thought. _Well, it's a start._

Riku went home, still thinking about what had happened that day. He never thought about Hayner or Kairi anymore. Since that day, all he could think about was Sora taking him to that odd place.

_No wonder he's so weird. _Riku thought. _He's from some other world! Well, I guess I'll admit that's...kind of cool. It's not everyday you find someone like that._

He stopped his thoughts that were bothering him.

Three more days passed and Riku still couldn't get over how fascinating the place was. All day Riku would think of it and if he would ever get to see it again. The thought of Sora came to mind once more. He hated how he was always thinking about him. Though still very confused with his feelings and such, he knew he wanted to see Sora again. Who knew what else was special about that boy! Riku left the house, hoping he would find Sora. He ran into him every other time, so why would this time be any different?

_**To Be Continued...**_


	5. Chapter 5

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 5_

Riku walked down every street he could. He hated himself for being so desperate, but he wanted to see Sora again. Hours had gone by and he had no luck yet. He kept looking and looking.

"Hey look!" Riku heard a familiar, yet unfriendly voice. "It's our favorite friend."

Riku didn't need to turn around to see that Jack, Rick, and Gary were right behind him.

"What's the matter, Riku?" said Jack. "Been all lonely lately?"

"_We'll_ be your friends." Rick teased him.

"YEAH!" said Gary. "HAHAHAHA...we will?"

Jack and Rick rolled their eyes. Gary wasn't too bright.

Riku remained silent and didn't move an inch. What could he do? If he ran away, they would just chase after him. And he figured even if he stood still, they would hurt him. Either way, Riku felt like it was a lose-lose situation. He refused to look at them. He just continued to have his back to them and waited for whatever would come next.

"Why don't we show our friend how much he means to us?" Jack suggested. The other two laughed. Riku spun around and took a few steps back. Jack simply walked towards him, clenching his fists.

"Say goodnight!" Jack said.

Riku closed his eyes, afraid now. He waited for a fist to come and hit him in the face, but one never came. He opened his eyes. Riku was surrounded by some strange light.

"What the fuck?" Jack got angry now. He continued to try and attack Riku but the light around him was some sort of barrier and Jack could not break through. "DAMMIT! What are you doing, Riku?"

"I'm not doing anything!" said Riku, still somewhat confused at why that light was around him.

"Let's get out of here!" Jack told the other two. He turned back to Riku and said, "This isn't over yet!"

The light around him went away. He looked around until he saw Sora from far away, chuckling. Sora then walked up to Riku.

"You did that?" Riku asked.

Sora nodded. "It was my turn to save _you _from those guys."

"Oh...thanks." Riku was still a little shocked. He was already having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Sora could teleport to different worlds, but now he was amazed to see Sora had some kind of strange powers.

"Hey, do you want to go to another world? I know one that's different from the one I used to live in!"

"I...guess so."

After the process of teleporting, Riku found himself in another odd world. It was very...green.

"This is Deep Jungle." said Sora. "Isn't it nice?"

"I guess." said Riku. It wasn't anywhere near as nice as Sora's world. "You're lucky, you know. You get to go to any place you want whenever you want. When I was little, I used to hope I'd get to see other places one day."

"Well, you're seeing new places now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I don't have the same feeling I had when I was little. I gave up hope of every seeing new places long ago."

"You should never give up hope." said Sora. "If everybody gave up easily, they'd never find happiness. Hope, to me, is like a light. A light somewhere in the dark that never goes out. When we search in the darkness, and find that light, we're pulled out of the darkness and into a new world of light. So, you shouldn't give up hope so easily. Not for anything! Or you'll never find your light."

He had a good point, but Riku found it hard to believe. "Yes, well what if we hope and hope and hope, but no good ever comes?"

"Well, you just have to move on and find your next light." Sora replied. "Life isn't as bad as some people make it seem. All we can do when the worst is to come, is to stay positive and move on until our next challenge to fight darkness comes again..."

Riku was a bit annoyed that he was still using the light and dark thing to explain "hope."

Riku couldn't help but ask, "Has anything bad ever happened to _you_? Not like something simple, I mean, has anything truly horrible ever happened to you?"

"Of course." Sora replied. "And I've had hard times moving on. But I knew continuing to be sad would only make me feel worse. There's so much more to life that's waiting for me and worrying about the past will only keep me from it. Now, I'm not saying of course, that we have to get over something as soon as it happens, but if we can at least move on afterwards, it's ok. I know some people do indeed need a lot of time to get over something terrible."

_He really is strange. _Riku thought. _I don't know anyone who ever has a lot of thoughts on simple things like this. And what he said about what hope is to him...I've never heard anyone say anything like that before. But does that really make him strange? Or...just someone with a good heart?_

Sora looked at Riku and smiled.

_Why? Why do you always do that? That smile...why do you always show it to me?_

"Do you want me to show you around here?" Sora asked.

"Well, actually I'm tired. Mind if we go back?"

"No that's alright."

"I know I said I wanted to go here but--"

"It's ok. I'll show you around another time."

"Right...thanks."

They then teleported back home.

"Hey, Riku," said Sora. "Can we meet again tomorrow? I mean, if it's ok with you..."

Riku could not help but smile. He had another strange feeling in him. It was another happy feeling.

"Sure." said Riku. "Tomorrow is fine."

_**To Be Continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 6_

The phone rang. Riku saw on the Caller ID it was Hayner and answered it.

"Hello?" Riku spoke into the phone.

"Hey." Hayner's voice spoke back.

"How's it going?"

"Ok...but um..."

"Yeah?"

"How come you haven't answered the phone lately? For the past week, Kairi and I have been calling because we didn't want to leave you out just because we're dating now. We've been calling for a few days but you haven't answered."

"Really?" Riku had been hanging out with Sora lately. He never even bothered to check his phone for any missed calls. "I'm sorry. I've been busy lately I guess I haven't noticed."

"How about we make plans on Friday? You, Kairi, and I can go hang out at the movies or something. And I promise Kairi and I won't ignore you."

"I know you guys won't. But yeah, ok. Friday's good. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Riku felt bad for not even thinking about Hayner and Kairi. Even during the summers he spent alone, he thought of Hayner and Kairi. He figured when Friday came, he wouldn't bother to invite Sora. He's been seeing him enough lately. But until that day came, Riku decided to spend more time with Sora. He had been enjoying seeing new worlds with him.

The next day, a Wednesday, he went to see Sora. It was around nine o' clock.

"Follow me to the beach." said Sora. "I wanna show you something."

Curious, but knowing this would be interesting, Riku followed him. Nobody was at the beach at this time. When they got there, Sora stood in front of the water. Riku simply watched, and was very confused.

"What are you doing?" Riku asked.

Sora stood still, holding his hands out. Riku noticed waves were beginning to form. The waves grew stronger. They began colliding into each other making large splashes. It was like watching waves dance across the surface of the ocean. The movement of the waves confused Riku. Then again, what did Sora _not _do to confuse Riku?

"The ocean...it's happy." said Sora. Now he was really beginning to scare Riku. "It's dancing out of joy."

"What? That's stupid." said Riku.

Then again, Sora was no ordinary boy. Who knew what other strange powers he had!

"It says we can ride its waves." Sora said as he turned to Riku. Sora began walking in the water.

"What is this, some odd form of suicide?"

Sora laughed. "No. Come on. You've trusted me all these times before. Have I ever let you down?"

Riku thought about it. Sora never really did let him down. Feeling like an idiot once more, though knowing he was in no danger, he trusted Sora and followed him into the ocean.

"Now what?" Riku asked as he joined Sora being up to his shoulders in water.

"Hold on tight." said Sora seeing many waves coming.

Riku was afraid now and as a wave came he grabbed Sora's hand without realizing it. He closed his eyes and felt himself being lifted. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find he was actually riding the wave instead of being stuck under it. He saw Sora was having a good time. As the waves they were on went down, more went up and they ended up riding all across the top of the ocean. Riku was still confused as usual, but ended up having fun.

Eventually, the waves died down and they were washed up onto the shore.

"Phew." said Sora, now exhausted.

Riku could not help but begin laughing. He had so much fun!

"That was great!" Riku exclaimed.

"See? I told you that you should trust me."

"Heh...you're right."

_Sora really knows how to have fun. _Riku thought. _I wish I had met him sooner. He has ways of having fun that nobody possibly could do. Ha! Hayner may know how to surf but I'd like to see HIM ride those waves the way I did. _

"I'm glad you had fun." Sora said giving him the usual smile.

Riku turned his eyes away from him. _Damn. That smile that kills me..._

He finally looked back at Sora.

"Sora?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

"Hm? For what?"

"I've...never had such a good time ever in my life before you came along. You've helped me realize that I shouldn't waste my time sitting around all day. I should go out and have fun...and live life to the fullest!"

Sora smiled. He was glad he finally helped out Riku.

"Well, no problem!" said Sora, putting his hand on Riku's shoulder. Riku went red and he saw Sora did too. Sora slowly took his hand off.

"Heh heh, well we should leave I guess." said Sora.

"Yeah..." said Riku. "I'll see you soon then."

"Alright. See ya!"

Riku could tell he had blushed. He felt so embarrassed even though Sora did as well.

_What's wrong with me? _Riku asked himself. _First I get that odd feeling when he smiles...but now..._

Riku sighed and let those thoughts slip from his mind. He decided to hurry back home and change out of his soaking wet clothes.

_I hope we can have fun like that again really soon._

_**To Be Continued...**_

Teehee. So yes, as you all can see, Riku's finally starting to lighten up and have a little more fun. But what will come next? Stay tuned! flies away


	7. Chapter 7

_The Mysterious Boy_

ok I got some reviews, not many, but some, about my chapters needing to be longer. the problem is I wrote this one and chapter 8 in advance. sobs I promise Chapter 9 will be longer. ENJOY!

_Chapter 7_

A couple more days went by and Sora showed Riku many ways to have fun. Riku had changed. He had learned to stop being so serious. However, he realized the next day that he had forgotten something very important.

"Shit!" Riku said angrily. He forgot all about when he said he would hang out with Hayner and Kairi on Friday. It was Sunday now. As he went to grab the phone and call them, the phone rang. Kairi's number appeared on the phone. Riku answered the phone.

"Hello?" said Riku.

"You didn't come..." said Kairi, seeming sad. "We called you the night before to see if you were still gonna meet us, but you never answered the phone. Then we called the next day, and the day after! Where were you?"

"Kairi, I'm really sorry! I have a reason."

"You know, Hayner and I tried to be nice and not leave you out, but you completely ignored us!"

"I've...been hanging out with Sora..."

Kairi was silent for a moment, but then said, "Were we replaced just like that? Now Sora's more important to you?"

"No, listen! He's...helped me. I've changed! But he's helped me so much that I've been losing track of time! Please, forgive me."

Kairi sighed. "Ok."

"Let's hang out right now! You and Hayner and I can go do something!"

"Well...ok. I'll see if Hayner's busy or not. I'll call you back. Will you answer the phone if I call back?"

"Yeah! I will."

"Ok then. Bye."

"Bye."

Riku had to admit, he missed spending time with Hayner and Kairi. He knew now this was his chance to show Kairi and Hayner how he has changed. That night, they all had a fun time. They decided to go to the movies, but they laughed and talked through every minute of it so everyone else in the theater was bothered. That didn't matter to them. They were enjoying themselves to much.

"Wow, Riku." said Kairi. "I've never seen you act this way before. I guess you really have changed."

"Does this mean you'll spend more time with us?" Hayner asked.

Riku wasn't sure just how much more time he would spend with them. He really wanted to hang out more with Sora, but these were his friends that he had for years. Ditching them for someone else that he is still getting to know would not be right.

"Maybe." said Riku. "Um...can Sora hang out with us too? I know you guys enjoyed hanging out with him that time we went to the beach."

"Sure." said Kairi. "The more, the merrier."

Riku smiled. Things were starting to get better...for now anyways.

Kairi and Hayner were both busy the next day, so Riku decided to see what Sora was doing.

"How are you?" Sora asked.

"I'm ok." replied Riku.

"Hey, do you want to see a new world?"

"I guess so."

He did the same thing as usual by letting Sora hold his hands so they could teleport.

One thing Sora forgot to do, was see if anyone was looking. Unfortunately, someone was.

"Did you see that?" said Jack. "They just teleported or something!"

"Interesting..." said Gary.

"Gary," said Rick. "you don't even know what we're talking about."

"Yes I do!" Gary said, angrily. "And did you hear that thing the spiky haired kid was saying? Something about a _new world_. I think another world means another place for us to cause some trouble."

Jack and Rick were shocked to hear Gary say this.

"Good thinking, Gary!" said Jack. "This place is dull and boring. And if they really did teleport to a different world, then next time they do it, we'll have to join our _dear friends. _Heheheh..."

"Where are we this time?" Riku asked.

"Neverland." Sora replied. The place sort of reminded Riku of Sora's world. Sora's world was still the best one Riku had seen though.

Sora walked over to the edge of the cliff they were on. He turned to Riku.

"Take my hand." he said.

"Huh?"

"I said take my hand."

"Why?"

"Don't ask why! That'll ruin the surprise."

Sora still had his hand held out, waiting for Riku to grab it. Riku thought about it for a moment. Sora had continued to never let Riku down, so he knew he could trust Sora. But still, he could not help but wonder what Sora was going to do.

_Well, _Riku thought. _I won't know by standing here._

Riku went towards Sora and grabbed his hands.

Suddenly, they were high up in the air. Riku looked around, scared and confused. He held on tightly to Sora's hand.

"What's happening?" Riku asked him.

"It's called _flying_, silly." said Sora. "Even you know that! Just go with the flow and you'll be flying too instead of just holding onto me."

Riku did what Sora said, and felt himself being let go by Sora.

_Good Lord! _Riku thought to himself. He was actually flying!

He turned to Sora and smiled as they soared through the sky, among the millions of stars around them.

_When I was younger...this is one of the things I used to wish I could do. I never imagined this would happen. Sora...thank you..._

_**To Be Continued...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 8_

The two continued to fly through the sky. The sky seemed even more beautiful up close. It was like the stars were shining just for them.

Riku quickly adjusted to flying. It was a lot easier than he had imagined. He wished he could be like this forever, and never have to worry about going back down on the ground.

They stopped, but were still up in the air, and looked at the sky.

"I love stars." said Sora. "They sort of remind me of what I told you before about hope being a light in the dark."

"Then I guess," said Riku. "that all is well tonight. If many of the small hopes are shining in the dark."

"Together it could form one large light of hope."

"Yeah..."

The two continued to stare at the sky. It was hard for them to take their eyes of the wonderful sight.

"It really is beautiful..." said Riku. He managed to look away from the stars and look at Sora.

"Yeah." said Sora. "Hey, let's look around at the rest of this place."

He held his hand out, and Riku grabbed it, without any thoughts or doubts. Together, they flew all around Neverland. First, they flew over a large field of flowers. The flowers were so colorful and full of life. They then flew over the rivers, and over hills and trees.

Through the whole thing, the two laughed and smiled. This, of all the things they had done together, had to be the most fun.

They stopped and lied down in the flower field they were in earlier. They were tired from all the flying. For once, they decided to watch the sky from further away.

"If only more people could be like you, Sora." said Riku. "Nobody ever really stops to enjoy the beauty of life. And I don't know anyone as kind as you. If there were more people like you, things would be so much better."

"Sometimes," said Sora. "we just have to search deep within ourselves to find a better side of us."

"Yeah." said Riku. "But some depend on others. After all, if it weren't you, I wouldn't have changed."

"Well sometimes people do have to help. But we all have the power to change _ourselves. _A lot of people just don't stop to realize that. And you know, though I helped you in ways people never have before, that doesn't mean it's the only way to change someone."

"Well I knew _that._" said Riku. But did he really?

Sora chuckled. "If you say so."

"But Sora..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you so much for everything."

"You already thanked me."

"I feel like it just wasn't enough. I wish I could do stuff for _you. _To show you how thankful I am."

Sora got closer to Riku. "I know you're thankful. You don't have to do anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

Riku still felt the need to. People never seem to just be able to say "thank you." Some usually feel like they owe that person everything.

They both laid back and continue to watch the sky for another hour or so.

Riku woke up the next morning in confusion. Once more, he had a dream. Sora was indeed in it, but he wasn't smiling this time. In fact, he was crying. Riku could not help but be curious about this dream. Why would Sora cry? He's usually the happy type.

_Sora's always in my dreams. _Riku thought. _This one probably means nothing. Well, I hope so. Maybe I should see him today and see if he's ok._

Sora was unfortunately busy that day. His family wanted to spend some time with him, so Riku could not see Sora. Riku decided to kill time that day by spending time with Hayner and Kairi. They decided to go walk around town. But he still could not help but think about that dream of his. The image of it was perfectly clear in his head. Sora was just standing there with tears rolling down his cheeks.

_Get it out of your head! _Riku thought. _It's nothing to worry about. Dreams are just dreams. _

"What a shame." said Hayner. "I wish we could've seen Sora today."

"Yeah." said Kairi. "I miss seeing him."

Later that day, around eight o' clock, Riku got a call from Kairi.

"Hello?"

"Hey Riku."

"What's up?"

"I need to talk to you...but in person."

"Ok then."

"Meet me at Corner Avenue."

"Um...alright then. See you in a minute."

"Bye."

Riku hung up the phone and headed to Corner Avenue. He saw that Kairi was already there.

"Hey." said Riku. "So what do you want?"

"You." she replied softly.

"What?"

Kairi immediately grabbed Riku and began to make out with him. Riku pulled away as quickly as possible.

"What the hell is your problem?" Riku asked.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

"Aren't you dating Hayner?"

"Well of course. But I'm starting to get feelings for you too. Why have one guy when you can have two? Can you blame a girl for liking you?" She got closer to him once more. "You're so hot..."

"Get away!" Riku ran away from her.

What could he do? He couldn't tell Hayner because he probably wouldn't believe him. But now he felt uncomfortable around Kairi. That night, all Riku could wonder about was how he was going to handle this.

_**To Be Continued...**_

Honestly, I hate Kairi a LOT. But I figured I'd add something new to see how things would turn out. ; Don't hate me folks! Haha...I wish I could grant everyone's wishes so this could be a perfect story to all...but sadly...I am merely a writer who must finish what she has started.


	9. Chapter 9

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 9_

"What's wrong?" Sora asked Riku one day. "You seem really sad."

Riku figured he might as well tell Sora. "The other day, Kairi told me she was starting to have feelings for me. But apparently, she still wants to date Hayner as well. All I could do was run away from her. I didn't know what else to do or what to even say."

"You need to tell Hayner."

"Are you crazy? If I tell him, he'll think I'm lying. I know he will. He seems to care about Kairi so much that he'll find it all hard to believe."

"If he was a real friend, then he would trust you."

"Well," Riku thought about it. "I guess I'll try to tell him later today."

"That's better! Now, I was really hoping to visit my old home world again to see how it is. I just can't seem to tear myself away from that place. Do you mind if we go there?"

"No." Riku replied. "That's alright."

Not too far away were Jack and the other three.

"They're about to do it!" said Jack. "Remember, right as they're beginning to teleport, we grab onto them."

"Right!" said Rick and Gary.

They watched as Riku and Sora grabbed each other's hands, prepared to teleport.

"Now!" Jack said, and the three immediately ran towards them.

Right as Sora and Riku were teleporting, they felt other hands grab on, but they couldn't see who it was. When they ended up in another world, Jack, Rick, and Gary ran to hide so Sora and Riku would not notice it was them.

"What happened?" Riku asked.

"Not sure." Sora replied. "I thought I felt someone else grab on, but I don't see anybody."

Jack and the others laughed. They were shocked that they got away with that. Usually, the three weren't too bright and were terrible at getting away with things.

"So now what?" Jack asked the others. "Any ideas, Gary? This _was _your idea after all. What trouble can we cause?"

"Er..." Gary thought for a moment. "I got nothing."

Jack rolled his eyes. "You idiot. Well, I dunno about you two, but this place sickens me. Why don't we make it look a little...better?"

"Where are you going with this?" Rick asked.

"You'll see." said Jack. "You'll see."

"I guess everything's fine." said Sora. About an hour had gone by now and they had walked towards the far end of the place. "I hope I didn't bore you."

"No, it's ok." said Riku. "We don't _always _have to do something exciting."

"Well we should head back now." said Sora.

He then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Something sort of...orange. He spun around.

"Oh no!" Sora cried when he saw from far away there were flames. "Something's on fire!"

The two immediately ran in that direction to see what had happened.

"Keep going!" said Jack, ordering the two to continue to set things on fire. So far, they had gotten a good bit of the place on fire. Jack then noticed that Sora and Riku had come.

"How did they get here?" Riku asked, puzzled. He then remembered when they felt like someone had grabbed onto them when they entered Sora's old home world.

"Stop it!" Sora yelled to the three. "Leave this place alone!"

"Why should we?" said Rick.

_I've got to get them out of here. _Sora thought. He held his hand out and some strange light came out of it. In an instant, the three guys were gone and back at their world.

The beautiful world Sora lived in was still slowly being burned. If Sora had arrived earlier, he would have been able to save the place, but now half of the place was burning.

"Sora?" Riku walked up to Sora, checking to see if he was alright.

"You should leave." said Sora.

"Huh?"

"I need to put out the flames." Sora refused to show his face and how upset he was. Sora held his hand out once more and once more some strange light came out.

"No! Wait! Sora!"

Riku was suddenly back in his world.

_Dammit! _Riku thought. _Why did he do that? I wanted to help him! But why did those three morons have to do that!_

"Well look who it is." Riku heard a voice and turned around. It was Hayner.

_Well, _Riku thought. _at least I can tell Hayner about Kairi._

"You're a jerk," said Hayner. "you know that?"

"What?" said Riku. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh so now you don't know, eh? You only tried to steal my girlfriend!"

"WHAT!"

"Kairi told me everything. She said you asked her to meet you at Corner Avenue and when she got there you started kissing her. She told me she backed away from you asking why you would do such a thing when you knew she's dating me. And she told me you didn't care and it'd be a secret. What the hell is your problem?"

Riku could not believe what he was hearing. This couldn't be happening! It couldn't!

"You have got it all wrong!" said Riku. "She kissed _me_. _Kairi _told _me _she wanted to meet me at Corner Avenue."

Hayner shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you!" said Riku, outraged. "We've been friends since before we even met Kairi. Is it just because she's your girlfriend that you believe her? Is it?"

Hayner looked even angrier now, but managed to keep calm. "I'll tell you why I believe Kairi. You and I may have been friends since before we met Kairi, but...I feel like I hardly even know you. Since we've met you've always been the type to avoid others. Sure, we hang out in school, but you almost never hang out with me on weekends and summer. Now, though I haven't known Kairi as long as I've known you, I have a better relationship with her. She actually likes to hang out with me."

"That doesn't mean I'm lying!" said Riku. "If I'm hardly the social type, then why would I be all over Kairi?"

"You _did _say you've changed." Hayner said softly. "You said to Kairi and me that you're not the same person you used to be. And this whole situation with Kairi took place _after _you said this."

Riku was silent. He didn't know what else he could say to convince Hayner that he didn't come on to Kairi.

"I'm outta here." said Hayner, walking away.

"Hayner!" Riku called after him, but Hayner ignored him.

_Just perfect. _Riku thought.

Riku felt more alone than ever before. Hayner refuses to talk to him, and he's too afraid to speak to Kairi now. And what's worse for him is for the past few days he had not seen Sora. Riku hardly ever took the time to pray until now. He was worried about Sora, so he prayed that he was alright. He prayed for Hayner, hoping that eventually he would realize that he was innocent. He found it hard to pray for Kairi after what she had done, so he didn't bother to.

_Why did this have to happen? _he thought. _Now I feel like I've lost all of my friends. _

Riku wished there was something he could have done to help out Sora when his home was burned. Since he felt like he owed Sora so much for all he had done for him, he wished he could have begun by helping him somehow because of that fire incident. He could only imagine how depressed Sora was now. He knew Sora really liked that world.

Riku suddenly remembered the dream he had of Sora crying. It gave him pain to think of such a thing, and he wondered if Sora _did _cry when his home was destroyed.

_Can't blame him if he did. _Riku continued his thoughts._ But...I still wish those jerks didn't do what they did. Sora is the kindest person I have ever met and it pains me to see someone like him upset. I miss his smile...I miss it a lot. Why? That smile used to make me feel uneasy...now I'd give anything to see it again. Sora..._

He looked back on all of his memories with Sora. He remembered how at first, he didn't like Sora and how he would have given anything to get away from him. Now he just couldn't help but feel like he can't stay away from him.

Riku felt tears build up in his eyes and slowly roll down his cheeks. _What's happening? Why am I crying? Is it really because I miss Sora and am worried about him?_

He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, still having his thoughts on Sora. At this moment, it was impossible to get him out of his head. Across the room was his window. He could see the sky and the many stars in the sky. The precious memory of him flying with Sora came to mind. Oh how he had loved flying with him.

He thought of the light in the dark Sora told him about.

_I need to stay positive. _Riku thought. _I need to keep my light in the dark shining brightly...so I can find it easily. Sora would want me to do that. I know he would. I won't let my light of hope die so soon! Yeah...Sora would be proud to know that._

He sat back down, now no longer confused about his feelings he had been having. The thought of Sora's smile seemed even more pleasing with every second that went by. And suddenly, everything was perfectly clear to him and he could not help but smile, though he had still been crying. Now his tears were tears of joy. He was glad his emotions were no longer confusing him. He let himself laugh for a moment. He looked back at the sky through his window one last time, then finally decided to close his eyes.

_Sora...I wish you were here...so I could tell you that..._

He felt one last teardrop slide down his cheek.

_...I love you..._

And with that last thought in his mind, he fell asleep, not minding if Sora would appear in his dreams. In fact, that was at the moment, perhaps the one thing he wanted the most: Anything to see his face again.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	10. Chapter 10

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 10_

Riku had no luck finding Sora the next day. He had searched everywhere, hoping he would be around. After looking all day, he figured Sora might still be in his old home world. He really wished Sora would come back, especially after the fact that he realized he loved him. He had also tried calling Hayner that day, but nobody answered. He called a few more times, but there was no luck.

After all of this, he headed to the beach. He wasn't so sure why he wanted to go. It was just some strange feeling he had. He figured he might as well go along with it to see what would happen.

To his surprise, Sora was at the beach. He was sitting down by the shore, staring at the ocean. Happy to see him, Riku went over to him, but was disappointed to see that Sora looked sad.

"How are you?" Riku asked and sat next to him.

"I'm ok." said Sora. Riku could tell he was still sad.

"I'm really sorry," said Riku. "about all of this. I wish there was something I could have done to help you."

Sora looked at him and forced a smile. He looked away after that and said, "The place is pretty messed up now, but at least I was able to put all the fire out before it got even worse."

"Well, things'll get better."

"I know." said Sora. "I'll move on. I don't plan on letting this keep me sad forever. I'm just still pretty shook up about it at the moment."

Riku said nothing. Once more he felt like there was nothing he really could say.

A drop of rain fell from the sky.

"Though it's hard," Sora continued. "I forgive those guys."

"What?" Riku was surprised that he forgave them for such a thing.

"It's only right to forgive and move on..."

"How could you forgive those jerks! They destroyed half of your home! They don't deserve any forgiveness!"

"Please..."

"Huh?"

"Stop...this is hard enough for me already to forgive them...so please don't make me feel worse."

Riku saw tears in Sora's eyes.

"I'm sorry." said Riku, now hugging him.

A few more drops of rain fell from the grey sky above.

Sora let himself continue to cry. Riku's fear of seeing him cry had come true, but he still embraced Sora to let him know everything was going to be all right.

More and more rain fell from the sky. They didn't let it bother them. Riku, at the moment, did not want to do anything but hold onto Sora.

"You're a good friend." said Sora. "I know I seemed to get on your nerves in the beginning, but you still never told me to go away or anything like that. And for that, I'm grateful. You're my only friend...and I'd be so lonely without you."

Now Riku felt himself crying. He saw now it was drizzling. Perhaps the sky was weeping for them.

Sora was the person that Riku ever really considered to be a friend. He had actually gotten the chance to know Sora unlike all of the others he knew.

"You've made me a better person." said Riku. "And I couldn't be happier that you did. Maybe what we both really needed...was each other."

Sora looked up at him and smiled. His tears stopped.

"I agree." said Sora.

"Sora..." Riku wanted to tell him how he felt, but it was so hard for him.

"What?"

"I..."

He stopped and noticed the rain was pouring harder and harder.

Feeling better now, Sora stood up and walked a few feet ahead of him.

After a minute, he turned around and held out his hand. Riku went to grab it, knowing wherever they would go, they would be all right. He had so much trust in Sora now.

When he grabbed Sora's hand, he immediately felt himself flying. They were back in Neverland which was their favorite place.

"When I'm here," said Riku. "I feel like all my problems are gone. Even though I know I still have to face them eventually, I feel like here, I'll be happy forever."

"It's kinda supposed to give you that feeling." said Sora. "Besides, it's nice to break away from all your troubles sometimes."

"Sure is. I'm glad to be back here. I like this place a lot."

"Me too." Sora looked up at the sky. "I especially love looking at the stars. This is the only place where you can get this close to the sky."

Riku flew next to Sora and watched the sky with him. Sora felt Riku's hand go on his shoulder. They both blushed, but didn't pull away from each other. Then, they stared into each other's eyes and leaned in towards each other. Closer and closer and closer until they were kissing.

Riku could feel his heart beating so fast. Never before had he been so excited. When they broke away, they smiled. Riku saw that Sora's cheeks had gone so red.

"Perhaps we should head back." Sora suggested.

"I guess so." said Riku, who now couldn't stop smiling.

The two headed back to their world.

"I ought to head home..." said Riku.

Sora grabbed his hand. "May I walk with you?"

Riku smiled and nodded.

On the way back, the two heard some sort of laughter. They looked around to see where it was coming from, but they saw nothing. They continued walking, then heard it again. Who was doing it and where could it be coming from?

"LET'S GET THEM!" they heard someone shout.

Suddenly, they felt themselves being attacked by Jack, Rick, and Gary.

"How's your little world doing?" Jack asked, he pinned Sora to the ground.

"Get off of him!" Riku yelled. He tried to get to him, but he was being held down by Rick and Gary.

"We had so much fun visiting your home world." Jack said to Sora. "Let's do it again some time!"

He grabbed Sora's head and punched him. Riku fought to get out of Rick and Gary's grasp, but it wasn't easy.

"I really can't stand you two." said Jack. "I say we beat the shit out of them. What do you guys think?"

"Hell yeah!" said Rick and Gary.

Rick and Gary pinned Riku to the wall of the building nearby and started beating him up. Riku couldn't see what was happening to Sora. He had a feeling Jack was trying to beat him up right now.

Riku managed to kick Rick and Gary in their faces, causing them to fall down. Riku was right. Sora was being beat up by Jack.

_Sora has all kinds of strange powers..._ Riku thought. _Why isn't he using them to fight back?_

Instead of worrying about it at the moment, he ran over to help Sora. Jack knocked Riku down onto the floor.

When Riku sat up, he saw Sora had put up a large barrier, protecting them both.

"Leave us alone..." Sora said softly. "Please..."

Jack and the others laughed. When they went to beat them up some more, they saw they couldn't get to Sora and Riku. This barrier was a lot like the light Sora once used to protect Riku.

"Damn!" said Rick. "Now we can't harm these brats!" He turned to Gary. "Gary, stop touching the stupid light thing!"

Gary frowned.

"It isn't over yet." said Jack. "It will never be over. You can't protect yourselves forever."

After that, the three guys left. Sora let the barrier fade away.

"Are you alright?" Riku asked Sora. He didn't seem to be too bad.

"I'm alright." said Sora.

"You should've fought back. I know you have the power too."

"Maybe so..." said Sora. "But I'm just usually not the type to hurt anyone."

"Yeah but this is different. When you need to protect yourself and you gotta fight back so you can escape then it's alright."

"I know. I just am not used to fighting people. The thought of it makes me feel bad."

Riku had tears in his eyes. He hated himself for being so sensitive now.

"You're too kind-hearted." he said, embracing Sora. "But that's what I like about you. You're so caring and forgiving to even those who are so cruel."

Sora was silent.

"I love you so much." said Riku. "I love you with all my heart."

Sora cried tears of joy. "And of course I feel the same." It had been pretty obvious when they kissed. "I love you too."

The two kissed for the second time, which seemed just as wonderful as the first. They both sat up, feeling as if they were never even harmed by Jack and the others, and continued their walking. Once more, Sora held Riku's hand on the way there.

_**To Be Continued...**_

Ok I know. These chapters aren't really much longer. But believe me I've been trying. It's not easy. blink I hope you all still love this anyway. Maybe the next chapter will be nice and long. 11 is most likely where it ends. It makes me so sad!


	11. Chapter 11

_The Mysterious Boy_

_Chapter 11_

The two were close to Riku's home now.

"How are things with Hayner and Kairi?" Sora asked.

"Oh." Riku wished he hadn't been reminded. "Terrible. Kairi told Hayner _I _came onto _her_. This was all before I had the chance to get to tell Hayner anything. Just my luck, eh?"

"Well," said Sora. "I'm sure things will get better."

"Sure hope so."

A few minutes later, they had arrived at Riku's house.

"Do you want to come in?" Riku asked.

"Oh, no thank you." Sora replied. "I need to be heading back to _my _home."

"Oh. Well I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah." Sora said with a huge grin on his face.

After kissing his once more and saying goodbye, Riku walked into his house and went to his room. One could only imagine how much joy he had felt now. Knowing Sora loved him back was the best feeling in the world.

It was six o' clock. The sky had begun to grow dark. The orange and yellow colors in the sky were slowly fading as a dark grey and blue decided to take over. Riku stared out his window and began to day dream.

Sora had begun walking back home down a road where nobody was. He stopped and thought for a moment.

_As much as I'd like to, I can't help everybody. _Sora thought. _But maybe I can make things better for Riku._

He closed his eyes, tilted his head back a bit, and held out his hands. Out of his hands came a few small lights and they floated away from him.

Kairi was at home, in her room, brushing her hair. She suddenly saw one of the small lights appear.

"What the hell is that?" she asked herself aloud. The light headed for her, and went into her heart.

_What's going on? _she thought. _I'm feeling...rather..._

"...guilty." she finished her though aloud.

The same thing happened to Hayner. One came by him and went into his heart and he felt his emotions change.

Jack, Rick, and Gary were outside in an alley. They then saw three small lights and try to shoo it away like it was some type of bug.

"What the--!" Jack was alarmed to see it go inside him.

Gary laughed like a maniac when the light went into his heart. "That tickles!"

And one went into Rick as well. They suddenly felt a small feeling of regret.

The next day, Riku went out for a walk when he suddenly saw Kairi and Hayner.

"Hey guys." said Riku, wondering why they hadn't walked away.

"Riku..." Kairi said softly. "I'm...sorry. I explained to Hayner that I lied about the story of you coming onto me. I begged him for forgiveness and he actually did forgive me."

"Yeah..." said Hayner. "I couldn't find it in me to say 'no', somehow. However, we're just gonna stick to being good friends again."

"And Riku," said Kairi. "We were hoping you would forgive us. I'm sorry for kissing you and telling Hayner those lies, making him angry at you."

"And I'm sorry," Hayner added. "for not believing you. Instead of being a sensible person, I just completely took Kairi's side without actually taking the time to learn who was really telling the truth."

"Forgive us. We are truly sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive us!"

Riku wanted to, at that very moment, turn away from them. However, he remembered something that Sora said.

_"It's only right to forgive and move on..."_

With those words in his head, he couldn't help but say, "I forgive you both."

"Oh good!" exclaimed Kairi. "I'm so glad. And I promise I won't ever be that way again! I'm going to be honest and NOT cheat on anyone." She turned to Hayner. "I'm just sorry I did that to _you_."

"Hey, I already forgive ya." said Hayner.

"It's strange..." said Kairi. "Last night, well a little before night time, something odd happened to me."

"Same here!" said Hayner. "Believe it or not, I saw a very strange little light...and--"

"ME TOO!"

"Seriously? Then I'm not the only one imagining it!"

"You lost me." said Riku.

"Well," Kairi began. "yesterday a small light came into my room and suddenly it went inside me. I could feel it in my heart...and I suddenly realized what I had done to you and Hayner was wrong and I needed to apologize."

"And something similar to that happened to _me_." said Hayner.

"That's odd." said Riku.

_Could it..._he thought. _...could it have been...hm...maybe..._

"I gotta go. Maybe we can all hang out soon." Riku then continued walking.

"Well, if we do," Hayner called to him. "don't forget to invite Sora! Remember? You said you wanted him to hang out with us."

"Trust me." Riku called back. "I haven't forgotten."

Riku continued walking, and saw Jack and the other up ahead. What had him even more worried is that they were looking right at him. Riku tried to run away, but they ran fast enough to get in front of him and block his path.

"Wait!" said Jack.

"We're sorry!" said Rick. "Is there anyway we can show how deep of regret we have? We are truly sorry. You can only imagine the sorrow we feel at the moment."

"Yeah!" said Gary. "What he said...about sorrow...and regret...and such."

Riku rolled his eyes and tried to walk away.

"We mean it!" said Jack. "We swear to you that we are sorry! We don't wanna hurt you or anybody else anymore."

"Something happened to us last night." said Rick. "Some odd little lights went inside us."

"Yeah! It came out of nowhere!" said Gary.

"Shut up and let me finish!" Rick snapped at him. "Anyways, once it was inside us, we felt it do something to our hearts. We could tell then that we've been doing wrong for waaay too long. And we're really sorry."

"So, will you forgive us?" Jack asked.

Riku wanted to laugh. He never imagined he would see the day that Jack, Rick, and Gary were sorry for anything.

"You're forgiven." he said.

Jack and the others thanked him, and left.

"So the lights really worked." Riku heard Sora. "I've never tried that before."

He turned around and saw Sora.

"So you really were the one who did that." said Riku.

"Well, I wanted to make things better for you."

Riku smiled. "Once more, I owe you."

Sora laughed, then walked up to Riku and wrapped his arms around him.

"Stay by me always." Sora said, softly. "That's all you have to do to pay me back."

Riku smiled and embraced Sora back.

"You got it." he said.

"So, what now?" Sora asked. "Do you want to go to any new worlds?"

"Nah." he replied. "I was thinking we'd hang out _here_."

"Sounds good to me."

The two grabbed each other's hands and began walking, knowing that no matter what, they would always be together.

_**The End**_

_**The author would like to say:**_

OOOHHHH those words (the end) kill me! I know I know I know these last few chapters weren't long at all. Towards the end, it got harder for me to think of things. But I'm so glad that you all haven't let that bother you too much. I appreciate everyone's reviews and give you all a big "THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Thank you for taking the time out of your days to read these chapters. This has been my favorite story to write and I'm so glad you all loved it. Once more, thank you. And have a nice day.

Yours truly,

Leela14


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